OPENING THE FLOODGATES
Surf Travel and the First Big Secret Blown
In 1961, four of my buddies and I loaded into my ’51 Plymouth and drove to Mazatlan. I had $25 in my pocket. It took us three days, including one breakdown just north of Culican, where the mechanics somehow adapted Fiat brushes to fit my worn-out generator. When we arrived, we felt like we had traveled beyond the range of the known universe, into another reality, one with surf, at a time when riding waves was all but unknown to cultures beyond a few Southern California beach towns. When we pulled up at Loopy’s Loopers north of town, feeling so gnarly and far-flung, there in the flesh on the beach was almost everyone we knew from Seal Beach Pier.
Two years later, I shipped out in the merchant marine on a freighter to Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, and Vietnam. Little did I realize at the time, there had been rideable surf in every port. And in 1967, when Peter Troy came traipsing through California, having spread the seeds of surfing to Brazil and France, for some reason even that didn’t light the bulb on how great and far-flung the surf world would be.
By the early ’70s we still had a provincial view of the surfing world. We knew the coastline in the vicinity of Southern California had waves, at least from San Francisco to Cuatro Casas in Baja, and the Mazatlan area of the Mainland—and there had been photos of Australia by Ron Perot published in SURFER, and we had heard of surf in Peru, heard rumors of France, and knew the East Coast had waves of a sort—but by and large, other than Hawaii and our own home grounds, surf seemed exclusive to our little world. That naïve bubble would soon burst.
Craig Peterson and Kevin Naughton were the first American surf travel savants. The surf world was blooming and they flung themselves out into it beyond the known edge. When they returned from a Salvador trip with startling beachbreak shots from Mainland Mexico we ran a (rare, non-action) SURFER cover than fired imaginations. In the foreground was some of their stuff hanging from a driftwood limb in the sand, and a surfer looking out at nondescript, unridden waves. The blurb read, “Discovery on the Way Home from Central America”. The break was the legendary, now extinct, Petacalco and little did I know that the cover exposé had destroyed the sanctimony of a cult of Laguna/San Diego guys who had already planted their flag there, after much laborious travel exploration.
SURFER receptionist extraordinaire Shirley Ziegler (who could remember the name attached to a voice on the phone a year later after a single call) buzzed me on Sevo’s old intercom, “Some gentlemen are here to see you.” I asked her to send them in. Pat Tobin and Pierre Michelle were two of three than stormed in holding the cover up to my face. “How could you do this?” they scolded. “We worked so hard to find that wave and you blow it off to sell magazines for money!”
This argument had not surfaced before. I was a bit taken back, as I worked hard to maintain a vestige of soul while converting the goings-on of surfing into colored dots on paper. I tried on the rationale that I hadn’t really hurt anything, that the article would be forgotten and the surfbreak would recede back into anonymity. They scoffed at me. Nothing goes back the way it was. I settled into my final defense: They were lucky it was I in the publisher’s chair. At least I could hear them, relate to what they were saying. At least I cared. What if I was some asshole who didn’t care? Years later, after their break was dead and buried, we became friendly.
For magazine editors, dealing with travel destinations was never as simple as it had been before that episode, ever again. From that point on, traveling surf photographers had to follow the code or pay the pauper.
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READER COMMENTS
Fri Nov13, 2009, 12:13 PM
What happened to the break?
Fri Nov13, 2009, 7:54 AM
That last sentence is a crock, can you give one example of a photog or ...er magazine ever showing restraint and not blowing the cover of a recently discovered break.
Fri Nov13, 2009, 7:13 PM
Petacalco, I am guessing probably the best wave that has ever existed. Perfect rights and lefts as big as you wanted to surf. I never surfed it (too young)but I have a friend who lived there for two years, he has photos for proof, and when he moved to the North Shore in 74' he called Sunset a burger mushy wave. That should tell you all you need to know.
Sun Nov15, 2009, 5:15 AM
These places of uncrowded perfection still exist but don't expect to claim it as the first surfer to have ever surfed it. Take solace in the fact that you're getting amazing waves in a far flung locale with little to no hassle. The world today with the likes of Google Earth, the media, and the internet is a much smaller place than it ever was and the secret spots of yesteryear are few and far between. Be happy in the moment, smile in the lineup, and show some respect! http://stuffsurferslike.com/
Sun Nov15, 2009, 9:59 AM
Nice article. ends kind of abruptly though. how did petacalco die? (wasn't your fault) Also, as more and more spots have gotten exposed, doesn't this become more irrelevant?
Tue Nov17, 2009, 9:12 PM
A big river close by was damned. This disrupted the sand supply that made Peta work the way it did. Afterwards it was just a big gnarley shorebreak.
Wed Nov18, 2009, 1:56 PM
surfed with Pat Tobin more than a few times. Yes "Peta" was unbelievable ! washed away from erosion, or river flow was restricted due to damming upstream ? I witnessed 15' perfection in '73 and that was in a four day stretch. IMAGINE ??? - - moving further south that year all the way to Panama was a trip worth remembering !!! OH the times they are a changin' !!!
Wed Nov18, 2009, 11:45 PM
Well guys I drove all the way there in 1975 from NY and had then sent you guys a photo story shot in ectachrome (sp) and the response was to go back and shoot kodachrome! Here is a shot a total stranger took of me with my camera http://www.gilgo.com/walton.html
Thu Nov19, 2009, 12:47 AM
I was there a month after the article first came out. Tobin and Jean Pierre Michel were not happy campers. They actually had a sign on the beach instructing visitors to not surf when they were out and to stay a dustance from them when they were present. I guess I can understand their frustration. They truly ripped the wave. I stayed there for a month and never saw it smaller than six foot and as big as 4 x's overhead. I loved that wave: perfect left and right. It was the most perfect big wave I have ever surfed. I was heartbroken when it died.
Thu Nov19, 2009, 1:14 AM
There is no soul left in surfing, it was sold long ago to the highest bidder. I destroyed my fair share of breaks just from the buddy system, let alone the 12 ish surf films I worked on. All of the photogs I worked with always promised not to 'blow' the locals, but always did. Those included Mike M. from Surfer and Aron Chang from Surfing. Ego has begotten a new generation of hapless individuals who do not understand the history nor the joy of finding a new break. All you have to do is dial in your favorite website and open your wallet. Where is the pride that we shared in our day of living on $ .14 a day? That was when we were a tribe and not middle American sellouts...
Fri Nov20, 2009, 2:34 PM
is that the same jeff nelson i may have amped up about WR in CR? san slcumente local and centro surfer ? i've felt guilty all these years and he slams my door ! there were good surf sessions in many CA countries back when ; would you believe Pat Tobin was in Sta, Cruz, Mex., in '90. surfed together and reminisced ! want a job painting jeff ?
Thu Nov26, 2009, 3:32 AM
All...lived this dream 73-76. Currently working on rediscovering Peta project with many of the original crew...nice shot Glen, pls send an email to share, participate or keep updated on the project. Z-man, drop a line. Rich. reevesracing@aol.com
Mon Jan 4, 2010, 2:10 PM
I made it down to Peta a few times between '73 and '76. The culture clash between the uptight, speedo wearing, overly anal, Laguna gang and the carloads of Texans arriving weekly was seasoned by the endless Guerrero Gold permeating the atmosphere. I still remember Kevin sticking his gay ass in people's face while blantly cutting them off on waves. The fishermen of Peta were the real locals and the only one's worth knowing. Arriving at Peta off a bus, alone, with no camera, and a board a few feet shorter than the rest was the only way to arrive there. The empty peaks down the beach from the main break were often better. Spanish was the only language worth speaking or listening to. Surfers, as a group, will always be a mindless mob. The Rio Balsas will always find a place to put it's sand flow. Meanwhile, surfers firmly believe they are incapable of creating a wave generator that would make Peta seem like child's play. Like chasing down wild mangoes instead of learning to cultivate th
Mon Jan11, 2010, 3:08 PM
Summer of 73 - Perfect surf. Eight surfers at most rotating in and out the summer. Few in water at any given time. Bigger days even less. Few leashes kept everyone in line. It was about looking out after each other. It was about a personal committment of not hesitating and denying your fear in order to overcome that insane drop which was just the beginning of pure adrenaline pumping through your body at redline rate for the next 30 seconds. It was about knowing a beautiful place, it's people and their simplicity of life. It was a different time. A time now long ago, but never forgotten. A fortunate event that touched the lives of a few. Thankful for the opportunity to enjoy the adventure. Spots are still around, you just have to get off the beaten path, lock the hubs on the 4x4, be committed and you will find that perfect wave.....
Sun Jan31, 2010, 6:01 PM
Hey, stumbled across this feature from www.bestsurfingholiday.com and just spent the last hour checking out your travel features. Thanks Surfer, stoked.